Slitting, scoring, and folding machine



Dec. 29, 1953 w. ROSELIUS 2,664,035

SLITTING, SCORING AND FOLDING MACHINE Fil ed .June 5, 1951 6 Sheets-Sheet l FIG.|.

m x J N N INVENTQR N LOUIS W. Rosellus ATTORNEYS Dec. 29, 1953 1.. w. ROSELIUS SLITTING, SCORING AND FOLDING MACHINE 6 Sheets-sheaf; 2

Filed June 5, 1951 INVENTOR Louis W. Roselius MM 9 m Nnn 1.1.

ATTORNEYS Dec. 29, 1953- L. w. ROSELIUS SLITTING, SCORING AND FOLDING MACHINE Filed June 5, 1951 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 r I, Ll.

INVENTOR Louis W Roselius ATTORNEYS 1953 w. ROSELIUS. 2,564,035

SLITTING, SCORING AND FOL-DING MACHINE Filed June 5, 1951 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Louis W. Roselius wqw ATTORNEYS Dec. 29, 1953 L. W. ROSELIUS SLITTING, SCORING AND FOLDING MACHINE Filed June 5, 1951 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 F IG.7.

F lG.l3.

INVENTQR Louis W. Rosellus ATTORNEYS Dec. 29, 1953 L. w. ROSELIUS ,0

SLITTING, SCORING AND FOLDING MACHINE Filed June 5, 1951 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 I/IIIII/IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII w IAVENiOR Louis ose ius .F I G I I.

. ATTORNEYS Patentecl Dec. 29, 1953 SLITTING, SCORING, AND FOLDING .MACHINE Louis W. Roselius, Lake Success, N. Y., as'signor to S & S Corrugated'Paper Machinery 00., Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 5, 1951, Serial No.-229,933

Claims. l

My present invention relates to a paper folding machine and more particularly to machines for forming corrugated or other fibreboard blanks into completed tubular boxes.

I-leretofore in the operation of forming apiece of corrugated board or other type of fibrous material into a box, it has been necessary first to trim, score and cut out six slots in the blank to provide the appropriate score lines as well as the appropriate slots, the score lines defining the various walls and flaps and the slots separating the flaps from each other in order to enable .the flaps to be formed into a closure after the box is made.

After the slitting and scoring operation, the blanks have usually been stacked and delivered by appropriate means to a folding and taping unit. The folding and taping unit has consisted either of a simple taping machine fed byan operator who first folded each blank before feeding the same into the taping machine-or the folding unit comprised an automatic feed device on which the slit and scored blanks werestacked, the feed device moving the blanks successively .into the folding machine which bent the panels over in order to form the blank into a collapsed tubular box; and a taping or stitching machine was then mounted at the end of the folding machine in order to complete the operation.

This has required separate units with separate feeding devices and separate sets of operators,

thereby duplicating many of the operations and requiring an additional transporting or conveying operation between the slitting and scoring machine end the folding machine.

My invention is directed to the completion of the slitting and scoring operation and the folding operation in a single unit whereby a single stacking operation for the blanks and a single feeder will feed the blanks first into the slitting and scoring mechanism which will form the blank in such manner that it may readily be'folded and thereafter the blank as it is fed out from the slitting and scoring mechanism will be picked up and fed directly to the folding plates in order to form the collapsed tubular box blank.

By this means, therefore, the separate feeding device and the transporting problem entailed in the removal of blanks from the slitter scorer and the placement thereof in the folding machine will be obviated, the entire operation being done mechanically in a single unitary machine at one end of which a pile of plain blanks will be placed on a stack and at the other end of which collapsed completed tubular box members will be delivered. I

Actually, the process of making boxes may itself be revolutionized by this .type of operation.

In the ordinary manufacture, particularly of double face corrugated board, it is customary to place a slitter and scorer in the path of the finished corrugated board as it comes from the machine so that the slitter and scorer will place the necessary creases, scores and slots in the blank without the necessity for a separate feeding operation.

It has also been thought that thereafter the blanks must be taken through a separate folding and taping machine.

In my invention the entire corrugated board assembly and manufacturing line may be so arranged that the craft paper from the three separate mill rolls is fed in continuous web form at one end of thema'chine and finished collapsed tubular box blanks are delivered at the other end of the machine without any manual operation being performed at any step along the way.

This is made possible by placing a standard cut-off of .a well-known type in the path of the corrugated blank as is now known in the art and then placing my combined slitter, scorer and folder in the path of delivery from the cut-off so that all of the operations will be combined.

Thus, the primary object of my invention is the combination of a single unitary structure of a slitter, scorer and folder taper.

A further and important object of my invention is the arrangement of the delivery'element of the slitter scorer portion of the mechanism so that it will act as a feed-in element of the folding mechanism of the combined device.

This particular aspect of the invention has presented the major problem thus far in the art which prevented the combination of a slitter scorer with a folder taper or folder stitcher or simple folding device. I

The folding mechanisms require a particular type of feed-in operation which is not necessarily consistent with the delivery operation of a slitter scorer.

Thus, in folding mechanisms of the general type shown in Patent No. 2,336,507 and, in for in stance, Patent No. 2,517,449 issued August 1, i959, and Patent No. 2,583,712 issued January 29, .1952, the feed-in operation for the folding plates or folding elements which turn the outer panels of a creased and scored box blank into a collapsed tubular casing requires a high-speed roller drive which will move the blank rapidly against a stop in the folding mechanism.

This high-speed roller drive must be so arranged and positioned that the blank will leave the high-speed roller before it strikes the stop and thus in essence is thrown against the stop, enough friction being developed by the various portions of the mechanism, however, that the blank will not bounce back for any material distance from the stop.

Thereafter a slat on a feed chain is so timed that it will reach the rear end of the blank after the folding plates have completed their folding operation so that the collapsed tubular blank can be moved from the folding region.

Such a high-speed feed roller, however, for the blank will when the unit is combined with a slitter and scorer serve to draw the blank too rapidly through the slitter and scorer, thereby resulting in a tearing of the blank or a stalling or wrinkling of the blank which may eventually result in damage to the machine and at least a slowing down or interruption of the entire operation.

Thus, it becomes very important and it is an essential aspect of my invention that some means be provided for moving the blank from the slitter scorer elements to the folding plate elements of the combined machine while at the same time not interfering with either operation.

In order to solve this particular problem, my invention contemplates a plurality of driven feed rollers moving at the peripheral speed at which the paper is to move through the slitting and scoring mechanism. These will serve to draw the blank through he slitting and scoring mechanism in synchronism with the speed at which the feed slat for the slitting and scoring mechanism or the feed-in device for the slitting and scoring mechanism operates in order that a controlled regular speed is obtained for movement of the blank through the slitting and scoring mechanism, thereby resulting in the proper slitting and scoring operation for the blank.

In order to accomplish this result, the delivery rollers for the slitting and scoring mechanism or a portion of the feed-in system for the folding mechanism are so arranged that while these rollers are driven at the peripheral speed to match the speed of the blank through the slitting and scoring mechanism, they are driven in this manner by an overruning clutch arrangement or other release arrangement which will permit the blank to be drawn between those rollers at a higher speed than the rollers themselves will move the blank.

The high-speed feed-in roller for the folding machine itself is adjustably positioned transversely of the machine but adjustable in a direction at right angles to its own axis and along the main axis of the machine.

This adjustable positioning of the high-speed feed-in roller for the folding mechanism is so arranged that the high-speed feed-in roller of the feeding mechanism will be reached by the forward or leading edge of the blank immediately after the trailing edge of the blank has left the slitting and scoring mechanism, thereby permitting the high-speed feed-in mechanism for the folding elements of the machine to operate at the necessary high speed for such a feed-in without interfering with the slitting and scoring operation.

The feed-out or delivery rollers for the slitting and scoring elements of the machine will serve to draw the blank through the slitting and scoring elements at the controlled speed until the high-speed roller is reached and thereafter the high-speed roller will be able to draw the blank at the increased speed owing to the fact that the prior rollers are driven by an overruning clutch or other releasable arrangement which will permit the blank to be drawn between them at a higher speed than the speed imparted to the blank by the rollers themselves.

While adjustability of the high-speed roller in the manner above-described is desirable, it is not essential since the feed-out or delivery rollers for the slitting and scoring elements may be so arranged that they are spaced apart less than the distance between the leading and trailing edge of the shortest blank with the high-speed feed-in roller for the folding machine being spaced from the slitting and scoring elements by a distance greater than the distance between the leading and trailing edge of the largest blank which may be used.

This may result in some delay during the initiation of the operation of forming collapsed tubular boxes from the blanks, but once the operation has been started it will be continuous and uninterrupted.

Thus, while the adjustability as above-described of the high-speed roller is extremely use ful, it is not essential owing to the fact that the releasable driving rollers may be placed in any desired number between the slitting and scoring rolls and the high-speed feed-in mechanism for the folding elements.

Thus another and important object of my invention is the provision of novel blank moving elements between the slitting and scoring elements and the folding elements of the combined slitter scorer and folding machine in such manner that the blank may be carried from the slitting and scoring machine at a speed which will match the operation of the slitting and scoring elements while at the same time the blank is delivered into the folding elements at the higher speed necessary for proper operation of the folding elements.

The foregoing and many other objects of my invention will become apparent in the following description and drawings in which:

Figure l is a top plan view of my novel improved combined folding machine and slitting and scoring machine.

Figure 2 is a side view of the machine of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged cross-section of an intermediate feed-in roll.

Figure 4 is an enlarged side view showing the stacking and feeding arrangement for the blanks which are to be fed into the combined slitting, scoring and folding machine.

Figure 5 is an end view of my novel combined slitting, scoring and folding machine taken from line 55 of Figure 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 6 is a view partly in cross-section of the front gauge supports for the folding elements of the machine taken from line 65 of Figure 4 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the manner in which the blank enters the region of the folding plates.

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional View taken on line 38 of Figure 4 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 9 is an enlarged top plan view showing the arrangement of the pre-folding means for preparing the panels of the blanks for foldin by the folding prints of my invention. 7

Figure 1c is a side view of the Dre-folding means of Figure 9.

Figure 11 is an end view of the pre-folding means and stop device taken from line 11- of Figure is looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 12 is a side view partly broken away taken on line iii-I2 of Figure 1 showing the means for operating the stop device out of stopping position after the blank has been folded.

Figure 13 is a detailed view taken from line l3is of Figures 1 and 3 showing the adjustment of the folding bars.

The folding elements of the mechanism are connected to the slitter and scoring rolls by feed rollers if; each driven by an overrunning clutch drive 1228 (Figures 2 and 3) to draw the blank at the peripheral speed of the slitting and scoring rollers and deliver the blank to the highspeed feed-in roll for the folder.

The blanks are then fed between the upper and lower feed rolls 4|, i2. Upper feed roll M actually consists of two feed rolls ilo and Mb occupying the same position, respectively, as feed rolls and 3% as shown in Figure 1 and simultaneously adjustable with said feed rolls. The feed roll on the underside is a single roll extending entirely across the machine and rotatably mounted between the levers 33 which in turn are rotatably mounted on the pins 4 on opposite sides of the machine carried on lugs of the cross-bracket The lower end of crossbracket has secured thereto arm as having an opening through which the spring guide rod ii passes (all of the foregoing may readily be in Figure 3). Compression spring 43 around the guide rod ll bears between washer.

6:1 on the underside of lever it and washer 56 on the upper side of arm 36 and thus biases lever arm 23 upwardly to bias the idling roll 42 upwardly to tightly press the blank against the upper feed roll 4 I.

The maximum lift of lever 43 and thus the maximum rise of idling roll 42 may be controlled by the adjustable nuts iii on the lower of the guide rod ll.

Rolls and 38 are also spring biased in a manner similar to the springing means described for roll '52.

The blank is then carried under the folding bars and t8 and over the feed rolls 53 (see also Figure 10) which are rotatably mounted on each side on arms to rotatably supported on a center coaxial with shaft 55.

The feed rolls 555 are provided with standard overrunning clutch arrangement. Rolls 53 will feed the blank at the speed of the chain hereinafter described when driven by their drive members also hereinafter described.

The overrunning clutch arrangement, however, permits the feed-out rolls in front of the stacking device to feed out the blank at higher speed into the folding mechanism without initial interference from the slower moving rolls 53. These rolls 53, because of the overrunning clutch arrangement, will rotate faster at the speed of the blank as it is fed out; but will drive the blank after it is fed out at a slower speed against the stop hereinafter described. The slower speed prevents mar-ring of the front edges of the blank.

Each of the arms 56 has an extension 55 on the opposite side of the shaft 55 connected to tension spring which in turn is connected to a stationary lug 58 (Figures 3 and The spring Ell biases the feed rolls 53 upwardly to engage and drive the blank. The feed rolls 53' engage the blank on each side by pressing it up against the folding bars 39 and to and thus carry the blank forward until its front edge engages the stops 58 mounted on stop bars 73. The forward progress of the blank is thus arrested while the feed rolls '53 continue to rotate and press the blank against the stops58.

While the blank is in this position with its forward edge against the two stops 58, the creases or scores on which the fold is to take place are in register with the outer sides of the folding bars 39 and 4B. This is, of course, obtained by an appropriate adjustment of the machine as hereinafter described prior to the beginning of a run and by appropriate stacking of the blanks.

The folding bars ill and 48 may be vertically adjusted to accommodate for different thicknesses ofblanks. They are secured at the front flanges 40a of brackets 332 (Figures 1, 3 and 13) by slots 4% in the vertical flanges ite of bars 39 and 4|] which are engaged by clampin nuts 40d. These nuts may be loosened to permit the bars 39 and 43 to be raised or lowered and may then be tightened again.

While the blank is in the stop position against stop 53, the folding plates 6%! (Figure 1) which are each held on their respective cross arms 6| are driven around to fold the blank. 'Each of the cross arms iii which supports its folding plate 68 is driven by link 62 which connects it to the crank 63, which in turn is driven from the folding blank operating box The drive for folding plate 69 is thus substantially the same as described in my prior Patent No. 2,336,507.

The folding plate lid is driven around by the mechanism thus described to fold the side panels of the blank around the folding bars 39 and 4i! and to fold them down flat upon the remainder of the blank. The folding operation is facilitated first by reason of the fact that the folding plates 60 and (SI are downwardly bent at st in order that the side panels of the blank may readily ride up thereon.

Also, the folding operation is further facilitatedby means of the deflecting plate on each side (seen specifically in Figures 9 to 11) each of which terminates in an angularly positioned roller H so that the side panels are folded up of the order of 25 between plate ill and roller H on each side even before the blank reaches the folding position.

. The side panels are thus given an initial angularity with respect to the moving blank so that the folding plates need not rotate the side panels through a full but must as shown by an examination of Figure 11 rotate through approximately only The stop bars Mare as shown in Figure .10 supported by the bracket arm it which in turn is pigotally supported on the fixed shaft it on each s1 e.

The stop bar it on each side has a downward extension 18, the lower end of which is connected by eye bolt 19 to the tension spring 85, which in turn is connected to the lug SI secured. to the U-shaped members 22a which are fixed to the width of the folding boxes and adjusted with them.

Accordingly, the stop bar '53 on each side is maintained in raised position. The U members 22a serve to support the blank while in the fold wise to rotate the lever 85 counterclockwise and push down the rollers 84 of extensions 18. This pushes down the stop bars 13 which move down with the bracket 15 which in turn rotates about the shaft "it. This in turn pulls down the stops 58 on each side and thus removes the stop members from the leading edge of the blank.

The machine is so arranged and timed that as soon as the stops 58 are depressed by the action of lever 83, slat 55 mounted across the chains 9i moves up into engagement with the rear of the folded blank and moves the blank beneath the hold-down strip 92 which strip is adjustably supported.

Hold-down slat 52 is provided with a rack 92a engaged by pinion 93 on shaft 94 provided with handle 524a. Rotation of handle 94a will adjust the hold-down slat 92 longitudinally by feed screw 93 operated by knurled knob 94 on the cross bar Q5. The hold-down strip 92 is adjusted so that it extends just in front of the stops 58. The front end is curved upwardly so that panels which tend to spring up after being folded will be guided down again and their edges brought to abutting position. As soon as the slat 93 on chains tI engages and moves it forward further through the machine, the guide presses down on the same between the panels and prevents the folded blank from opening up.

The blank is then carried forward between the limiting rolls IilI which as shown in Figure 3 loosely control the position of the delivery end of folding bars 39 and. 58. Since the folding bars 39 and are supported from the front guide elements of the stacking device and since the free or delivery ends of the folding bar are substantially distant from their supports, they may be moved through a small angle.

The rollers see, IiiI above and below, respectively, each of the folding bars 39 and 6 limit the upward and downward movement of the free ends of the folding bars 39 and 48 so that they will not be flexed to too great an extent. These rollers also serve, in addition to controlling the position of the free ends of the folding bars 39 and 48, to control the blank and hold it in a somewhat central position so that the edges of the blank will be properly engaged by the straightening rolls lid.

The straightening rolls II?) are each mounted on stub shafts ill which in turn are supported on the adjustable plates H2, H2. Straightening rolls I IS on each side are aligned with each other and are provided with grooves as shown in Figure 3 adapted to receive the folded edge of the blank. The plates II2, IE2 are adjusted so that the peripheries of the aligned rollers IIll on each side are spaced apart by a distance which is slightly less than the width of the folded blank. The slat forces the blank between the rolls I It with the edges of the blank riding in the annular grooves on each side. Since the rolls are thus spaced slightly closer together than the width of the blank, the crease or fold is adjusted and spread vertically.

The movement of the slat which maintains the body of the blank normal to its direction of travel holds the blank at the correct angles with re spect to the rolls I It] so that in a properly folded blank the crease is adjusted regularly on each side.

Where the score line was initially incorrect or where the panel was folded improperly, the score lines are adjusted and straightened so that recreasing rolls I20 may then recrease or press the fold properly. The rolls IIL adjust and spread the crease to a. greater width at that portion of the blank which has been widened by the skewed folding.

As the blank leaves the crease adjusting rolls IIG, it passes between the pressure rolls I20, I20 which recreases the blanks as the blanks are delivered. Since the blank is maintained with its side edges exactly parallel to its path of movement by the slat the recreasing operation performed by recreasing rolls 225 forms the crease in exactly the right position.

I have found that panels which have been skewed so tha the trailing or leading edge of the panel projects over the edge of the main body of the box by more than a quarter of an inch have been straightened and properly rccreased by this operation. Blanks which had been improperly scored, so that when folded up the panel would be skewed, have been corrected and straightened during the passage tl'irough the folding machine.

My machine, therefore, reduces the waste of blanks and makes it possible to utilize blanks even though they have been improperly or carelessly creased or scored.

This type of recreasing operation has also been described in my prior Patent No. 2,336,507 wherein several spaced crease adjusting rolls are shown on each side. While spaced crease adjusting rolls have been able properly to recreasc and correct skewed blanks, I have found that by placing the crease adjusting rolls H0 in closely spaced relation as shown in Figures 1 and 3, a greater degree oi skew may be corrected.

Each of the said slats mounted across the chains 9| has a recess I30 so that it may readily slide or move on either side of the hold-down slat 92.

The folded blanks are preferably delivered to a taping machine and the bar IZBa serves to hold down the panels of the folded blank right up to the point of tape application. Side guides M011 are provided to guide the blanks into the straightening section without marring the front corners of the box.

The apparatus comprises, as previously pointed out, a number of improved elements, each of which cooperate with each other and with the entire machine in order to provide for increased speed and facility of operation.

Referring to Figure 5, a variable speed D. C. motor I50 with the sprocket I5I drives the sprocket I52 which is mounted on shaft I53 which carries sprocket [54 of Figure 1. Sprocket I54 provides power to pull the chains BI. Chains 9! are in turn held by idler sprockets I55 on shaft I56 (Figures 1 and 3 Idler procket I51 (Figure 3) is adjustably mounted to tighten the chains. Shaft I53 also holds sprocket I50 which in turn drives sprockets ISI, I62 and IE3 thus drivin the lower delivery shaft MI and the upper delivery shaft Hi) and the taper cam shaft Referring to Figure 1, the end of shaft I53 holds a bevel gear I10 which drives bevel gear I1I on shaft I12. Bevel gear I13 on shaft I12 (also in Figure 12) drives bevel gear I14 on stud I15 and so drives drop-off cam I16 which is mounted on bevel gear illl. Roller H! on arm I78 engages the periphery of cam HS; thus an oscillatory motion is imparted to lever I18 and to shaft 36 on which it is mounted; the shaft 83 as mentioned before serves to retract the stop 53. Set screw 53?; held in housing !8! engages an arm of lever Hi3 and serves to limit the angular motion of the lever lit and also of the shaft 33.

Referring back to Figure 1, the shaft H2 is connected to shaft 233 by means of the coupling 23!. Bevel gear 292 on shaft 238 drives bevel gear 233 on shaft 234 which provides power to both of the folding boxes 63. Bevel gear 235 on shaft 2% drives bevel gear 235 on shaft 20'! and thus turns the spur gear 233 which also is keyed to shaft 23?.

Referring to Figure 2, gear 238 meshes with gears 233, 253, and 23 l and thus drives gears 223, 22! and 222. Gear 222 drives gear. 223. It can be seen that by means of this gearing the feed rolls 33, 3f, 33 and 4! are. all driven. Also that gears 35 and 38 are pivotally held on the centers of gears 222 and 233, respectively, that these feed rolls when spring biased will adjust themselves to any thickness of blank.

Referring back to Figure 1, gear 230 on shaft 235'; drives gear 23! which holds bevel gear 232. Bevel gear 232 drives bevel gear 233' on the kicker drive shaft Referring to Figure 4, the crank 233 Which is keyed to shaft 23 drives link 233 which in turn drive crank 23f and link 238. Link 238 is a pinconnected link which transfers the variable rotary motion of pin 239 on link 23'! to a variable or) reciprocating motion of pin 233 on kicker carriage 2 A. Carriage 24! carries the kicker bar 232 in such a manner that the bar is adjustable relatively to the carriage by means of the T- shaped member 243 and the screw 244. The spring kickers ii are mounted on the kicker bar 2&2 in order to obtain adjustment for uneven blanks.

The bar 3i cooperating with the elevated kicker makes it possible to take warped sheets without interfering with kicking or ejecting operation. Bar 3! is undercut at 3m to permit the spring kicker 23 to enter beneath and thus make possible the feeding out of. short sheets.

All members which engage the edges of the blank are provided with nuts which in turn are driven by screws, all of which are driven from a common source on each side of the machine in order to adjust the machine for different widths of blanks.

The motor 333 in Figure 2 drives the shaft 30! through a worm gear reduction 332. Shaft 33! holds a sprocket (Figure 1) which en ages a chain 333 which passes over sprockets 335, 306, and 33?. S rockets 335, 303 and 39! drive screws 3&3, 353 of Figure and 3!!! of Figure 1,,respectively, and these in turn serve to adjust the straightening roll bracket H2, the stop and deflector assembly of-Figure 10, and the folding box 34 of Figure 1, respectively.

At the other end of shaft 33! is a sprocket 323 which by means of chain 32! drives sprockets 322 and 323. Sprocket 324 is an idler for the purpose of tightening chain 32!.

Referring to Figure 6, sprocket 322 is keyed to screw 333 which engages nut 343a of Figure I mounted on frame 325. Frame 325 holds the side gauge 325 shown also in Figures 2 and 6. Sprocket 323 is keyed to screw 33!) which engages nut 33! on frame 332 shown in Figures 1 and 3.

10 Frame 332 serves to hold front gauge 25 and also the folding guide bar 39.

Since the Sprocket 322 contains half a many teeth as the sprocket 323 and since their respective screws 343 and 339 have the same lead, the frame 325 which holds the side gauge 326 will be moved twice as far as the frame 332 for a given movement of the chain 32! and of the sprocket32s. The frames 325 and 332 are supported on bars 351 and 352 in Figure 3. These bars are held at both ends by the bracket 353 and 353' (Figure 6) which are mounted on housings 353. and 355, respectively.

Referring to Figure 10 in a similar manner, the carriage. 312 is mounted on the two bars 16 and 338' which are in turn supported in the side frames of'the machine.

Referring now to Figures 1, 2 and 3, I have here shown my novel form of slitting and scoring machine which comprises the side frame members 323 and 42! which are interconnected in any suitable manner as, for instance, by the base plate 422 and cross-bar 423.

The slitting and, scoring shafts 424, 425; 4240:, 325a, 424b, 4245 are mounted on the rotatable spider 426 so that any pair of shafts with the slitting and scoring blades previously set up may be rotated into appropriate position.

The slitting. and scoring blades 433, 43! are arranged on their respective shafts to form the appropriate slits or scores in the box blank just prior to folding.

Motive power for the shafts and for the spider may be obtained from any suitable source, not shown, in a manner well-known in the construction and operation of slitting and scoring machines.

In the foregoing I have described my invention solely in connection with specific illustrative embodiments thereof. Since many variations and; modifications of my invention will now be obvious to those skilled in the art, I prefer to be bound not by the specific disclosures herein contained but only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for making a tubular collapsed box from a blank, said apparatus comprising means for supporting a stack of blanks; means for feeding blanks successively from the stack; creasing and slitting rollers extending transversely of the path of movement of said blanks; said feeding means directing each successive blank into said creasing and slitting rollers; feed rollers located on the other side of said creasing and slitting rollers from said feed means; an overrunning drive for said feed rollers, said blank being moved by said feed rollers, the peripheral speed of said feed rollers when driven being equal to the peripheral speed of said creasing and slitting rollers; a high speed feed roll located beyond said first mentioned feed rolls; oscillatable blank panel folding plates; said high speed feed roll, when the blank reach s the same drawing the blank from the first mentioned feed rolls at a higher speed than the driven speed for said feed rolls and moving said blank into position to be engaged by said fol-ding plates; means for rotating said folding plates on an axis parallel to the path of movement of said blank; stop means holding said blank stationary during the folding operation of said folding plates; and blank delivery means cngaging said blank and moving the same from the folding position after the folding Operation is completed.

2. Apparatus for making a tubular collapsed box from a blank, said apparatus comprising means for supporting a stack of blanks; means for feeding blanks successively from the stack; creasing and slitting rollers extending transverselv of the path of movement of said blanks; said feeding means directing each successive blank into said creasing and slitting rollers; feed rollers located on the other side of said creasing and slitting rollers from said feed means: an overrunning drive for said feed rollers, said blank being moved by said feed rollers, the peripheral speed of said. feed rollers when driven being equal to the peripheral speed of said creasing and slitting rollers; a high speed feed roll located beyond said first mentioned feed rol s: oscillatable blank panel folding plates; said high speed feed roll, when the blank reaches the same drawing the blank from the first mentioned feed rolls at a hi her speed than the driven speed for said feed rolls and moving said blank into position to be engaged by said folding plates; means for rotating said folding plates on an axis parallel to the path of movement of said blank: stop means means for supporting a stack of blanks; means for feeding blanks successively from the stack; creasing and slitting rollers extending transverse- 137 of the path of movement of said blanks; said feeding means directing each successive blank into said creasing and slitting rollers; feed rollers located on the other side of said creasing and slitting rollers from said feed means; an overrunning drive for said feed rollers, said blank being moved by said feed rollers, the peripheral speed of said feed rollers when driven being c nal to the peripheral speed of said creasing and slitting rollers: a high speed feed roll located beyond said first mentioned feed rolls; and oscillatable blank panel fol ing plates: said hi h speed feed roll. when the blank reaches the same drawing the blank from the first mentioned feed rolls at a higher speed than the driven s eed for said feed rolls and moving said blank into position to be engaged by said folding plates, said first mentioned feed rolls being located closer together and closer to the slitting and creasing rolls and the high speed feed roll than the shortest blank to be operated on by the machine, said high speed feed roll being located at a greater distance from said slitting and creasing rolls than the length of the greatest blank to be operated on by the machine.

4. Apparatus for making a tubular collapsed box from a blank, said apparatus comprising means for supporting a stack of blanks; means for feeding blanks successively from the stack; creasing and slitting rollers extending transversely of the path of movement of said blanks; said feeding means directing each successive blank into said creasing and slitting rollers; feed rollers located on the other side of said creasing and slitting rollers from said feed means; an overrunning drive for said feed rollers, said blank being moved by said feed rollers, the peripheral speed of said feed rollers when driven being equal to the peripheral speed of said creasing and slitting rollers; a high speed feed roll located beyond said first mentioned feed rolls; folding mechanism; said high speed feed roll, when the blank reaches the same, drawing the blank from the first mentioned feed rolls at a higher speed than the driven speed for said feed rolls and moving said blank into position to become engaged by said folding mechanism; stop means holding said blank stationary during the operation of said folding mechanism, and blank delivery means engaging said blank and moving the same from the folding position after the folding operation is completed.

5. Apparatus for making a tubular collapsed box from a blank, said apparatus comprising means for supporting astack of blanks; means for feeding blanks successivel from the stack; creasing and slitting rollers extending transversely of the path of movement of said blanks; said feeding means directing each successive blank into said creasing and slitting rollers; feed rollers located on the other side of said creasing and slitting rollers from said feed means; an overrunning drive for said feed rollers, blank being moved by said feed rollers, the peripheral speed of said feed rollers when driven being equal to the peripheral speed of said creasing and slitting rollers; a high speed feed roll located beyond said first mentioned feed rolls; folding mechanism; said high speed feed roll, when the blank reaches the same, drawing the blank from the first mentioned feed rolls at a higher speed than the driven speed for said feed rolls and moving said blank into position to become engaged by said folding mechanism; stop means holding said blank stationary during the operation of said folding mechanism, and blank delivery means engaging said blank and moving the same from the folding position after the folding operation is completed, all of said feed means, rolls, folding mechanism and delivery means being driven from a single power source.

LOUIS W. ROSELIUS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,534,569 Butterfield Apr. 21, 1925 1,705,748 Bridgman Mar. 19, 1929 2,262,303 staude Nov. 11, 1941 2,517,449 Shields Aug. 1, 1950 2,563,596 Fergnani Aug, 7, 1951 

